Looking for Texas de Brazil vegetarian options? This is a churrascaria built around all-you-can-eat carved meats, so it’s a fair question, and the answer is better than you’d expect. One flat price covers the Market Table too, a full salad and hot bar running more than 50 items. So what about the vegetarians walking in with a meat-eating group? Here’s exactly what to eat, what to skip, and how the pricing works if you’d rather order the salad bar on its own.
A Quick Look at Texas de Brazil
Salim Asrawi opened the first Texas de Brazil in Addison, Texas, a Dallas suburb, on October 13, 1998. He had immigrated from Lebanon during its civil war, trained in hospitality, and worked at Ritz-Carlton properties before saving enough to open his own restaurant. The name plays on two things at once: Texas-size portions and the Brazilian churrascaria tradition of tableside, gaucho-style meat service.
Growth here has been steady, not fast. Asrawi and his family have kept it privately held the whole time, with Asrawi still at the helm as president out of Dallas. Restaurant Business, via Technomic’s Top 500 report, ranked Texas de Brazil No. 122 nationally for 2025. U.S. sales hit $411 million in 2024 across 55 domestic outlets, up from $381 million and 54 outlets in 2023, and $350 million and 53 outlets in 2022. Counting locations outside the U.S. pushes the full footprint past 70 restaurants, spread across 23 states, Puerto Rico, and nine other countries.
Texas de Brazil Vegetarian Options: What to Order
Everything below comes from the Market Table and hot bar, both included in the same per-person price as the carved meats. Be conservative with anything marked Check. Texas de Brazil doesn’t publish full ingredient breakdowns for every dressing or hot dish, and a couple of items have a real chance of containing meat.
| Menu Item | Vegetarian | Vegan |
|---|---|---|
| Market Table vegetables (tomatoes, cucumber salad, roasted peppers, asparagus) | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
| Hearts of palm, marinated artichokes, olives | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
| Imported cheeses (Grana Padano, Manchego, goat cheese terrine, mozzarella) | ✅ Yes | ❌ No (dairy, rennet not published) |
| Cured meats & seafood (prosciutto, salami, smoked salmon, shrimp salad, bacon) | ❌ No | ❌ No |
| Brazilian Cheese Bread (Pão de Queijo) | ✅ Yes | ❌ No (cheese and egg) |
| Garlic Mashed Potatoes | ✅ Yes | ⚠️ Check (butter/cream typical) |
| Jasmine Rice | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes* (ask for it without butter) |
| Fried Bananas | ✅ Yes | ⚠️ Check (preparation varies by location) |
| Feijoada Black Beans | ⚠️ Check | ⚠️ Check (often made with a pork or beef base) |
| Sautéed Mushrooms | ⚠️ Check | ⚠️ Check (preparation may include meat drippings) |
| Desserts (key lime pie, crème brûlée, chocolate mousse cake) | ✅ Yes | ❌ No (dairy and egg) |
The Market Table: Where the Vegetarian Options Are
The Market Table is where Texas de Brazil vegetarian options actually live, and it’s not an afterthought bolted onto a meat menu. More than 50 items ride along on the same flat price as the rodizio, and the company markets this bar directly to vegetarians on its own site.
Vegetables and produce cover a lot of ground here. You’ll find cherry tomatoes, cucumber salad, roasted garlic, roasted jalapeños, roasted red and yellow peppers, asparagus, sun-dried tomatoes, pepperoncini, and giardiniera. There’s also marinated artichoke hearts, marinated baby beets, hearts of palm, romaine and spring mix greens, sliced tomatoes, pineapple carpaccio, and an onion ceviche. Add couscous salad, tabbouleh, cabbage salad, and potato salad for something more filling, plus ciabatta bread and crostini on the side.
Cheese lovers get real options too: Grana Padano, Manchego, and mozzarella, plus a goat cheese terrine. All of it is vegetarian. None of it is confirmed vegan. Hard cheeses like these often don’t publish whether they use animal or microbial rennet, so treat them as vegetarian-only unless you ask.
Smoked salmon, prosciutto, salami, shrimp salad, and crispy bacon sit right on the Market Table too, next to everything else. None of it is labeled separately on the line, so look at each dish rather than assume the whole bar is safe.
Hot Bar and Sides
Beyond the cold Market Table, Texas de Brazil brings hot sides to every table as part of the same price: Brazilian cheese bread, garlic mashed potatoes, French fries, fried bananas, jasmine rice, feijoada black beans, potatoes au gratin, sautéed mushrooms, and a lobster bisque.
Pão de queijo, the Brazilian cheese bread, is made from tapioca flour, parmesan, egg, and oil. That makes it naturally gluten-free and vegetarian, but not vegan. Garlic mashed potatoes and fries are typically fine for vegetarians, though butter and cream are standard in mashed potato recipes, so confirm if you need them dairy-free. Jasmine rice is the safest hot-bar bet for a strict vegan if you order it without butter.
Two items need a real question at the table. Brazil’s national black bean stew, feijoada, is traditionally cooked with a pork or beef base. Texas de Brazil’s own vegetarian guidance says its version may not be meat-free either, so don’t assume it is. Sauteed mushrooms carry the same caution, since preparation can include meat-based stock or drippings and the company doesn’t spell out which. Confirm both with your server, and pass on the lobster bisque, which is seafood.
Sweet Endings: Dessert
Dessert closes out the meal, and it’s entirely vegetarian, not vegan. Look for carrot cake, key lime pie, coconut chess pie, and crème brûlée. Chocolate mousse cake, pecan pie, passion fruit mousse, Brazilian papaya cream, Brazilian cheesecake, flan, and bananas foster pie round out the rotation. Every one relies on dairy, egg, or both, and availability shifts by location and season, so don’t expect every dessert on every visit.
What’s Vegan at Texas de Brazil?
Vegan is workable, but thin, and mostly limited to the cold side of the Market Table. Plain vegetables are your safest bet: cherry tomatoes, cucumber salad, roasted peppers, roasted garlic and jalapeños, asparagus, sun-dried tomatoes, and pepperoncini. Giardiniera, marinated artichokes and baby beets, hearts of palm, romaine and spring mix, sliced tomatoes, and olives round it out. Add jasmine rice without butter and French fries if the location finishes them without butter.
Be careful with the dressings. Blue cheese and ranch are dairy by default, and Caesar dressing is made with anchovy, so it’s not even vegetarian. Orange, balsamic, and Brazilian vinaigrettes are the more likely vegan bets, but Texas de Brazil doesn’t publish full ingredient lists for them, so confirm before you pour.
There’s no vegan cheese swap and no dedicated vegan entree. Bread, cheese bread, mashed potatoes, and every dessert all carry dairy or egg. If you’re strictly vegan, plan on the salad-area-only option, built almost entirely around the produce line. Confirm with your server which vinaigrettes are safe that day.
Special Dietary Requirements and Allergies
An online nutrition and allergen portal lists ingredients dish by dish, and the company says it will accommodate specific dietary needs on request. Use that portal before you go if you have a real allergy, not just a preference.
A few structural things to know. Grana Padano and Manchego don’t disclose whether they’re made with animal or microbial rennet, so a strict vegetarian who avoids animal rennet should treat them as unconfirmed. Feijoada and the sauteed mushrooms may be prepared with meat, as covered above, and Caesar dressing contains anchovy. Carved meats come off separate live-fire grills, but the salad bar itself sits shared with cured meats and seafood on the same line, so cross-contact is possible if you’re strict about it.
Tips for Vegetarians at Texas de Brazil
- Order the salad-area-only option if you’re skipping meat entirely. Most locations charge less for it than the full rodizio price.
- Confirm with your server on feijoada and the sauteed mushrooms before you take either. Both can be made with a meat base.
- Find out what oil or butter the fries, mashed potatoes, and fried bananas are finished with if you need them vegan.
- Leave the Caesar dressing alone. It’s made with anchovy, not just cheese.
- Go early or on a slower night if you’re picky about the salad bar. Items on the line rotate through service, and what’s stocked can vary.
- Use the online nutrition portal before you go if you have an allergy, not just a vegetarian preference. It lists ingredients dish by dish.
- Bring a vegetarian to a group dinner without worry. The flat per-person price covers the same Market Table and hot bar whether or not anyone at the table orders meat.
Conclusion
Meat is the draw at Texas de Brazil, but it doesn’t leave vegetarians stuck with a side salad. A real, filling meal is sitting right there on the Market Table, from marinated vegetables to hot cheese bread and dessert, and most locations charge less if you skip the rodizio entirely. Just confirm the feijoada and sauteed mushrooms with your server, and check the vinaigrettes if you’re vegan.
For more on eating meat-free at restaurants generally, see what about the vegetarians can expect at any chain. Browse our full restaurant guide library for more chains like this one. If you like the churrascaria format, Fogo de Chao runs on a similar market-table concept, and for other upscale-casual spots with a real vegetarian salad program, check out Cooper’s Hawk and The Melting Pot.
